Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round (1966)
We always thought of James Coburn as Steve McQueen-Lite......
With a lanky frame and wicked, wolfish grin, he labored through minor but memorable roles in TV and films until he broke out into stardom as super secret agent Derek Flint in the 1966 "Our Man Flint". (But everyone knew he was on the verge of a major career after his role as a deadly knife-thrower in 1960's "The Magnificent Seven")
Much like McQueen (with whom he co-starred with in that film and "The Great Escape"), Coburn knew how to create an aura of effortless grace combined with his carefully calibrated physical movements.....like a tiger ready to strike at any time.
As a seasoned character actor, he could also do deadpan comedy, slipping in and out of multiple identities....though his attempts at various accents were middling to painful.
As a newly minted official movie star, 'Dead Heat on a Merry Go Round' functioned as a vehicle solely fueled and energized by Coburn's rakish, vulpine charm. The title, by the way, may sound like a lame joke, but does finally take on meaning in the film's final twist - a sardonic middle finger to the grifting life of Coburn's character, conman/master thief Eli Kotch.
Eli, an ace seducer and manipulator of women who fall for him, tricks his way out of prison and gets busy looting the bank accounts of one gullible girlfriend after another. He's building enough cash to fund that well worn goal of all movie crooks - pull off a huge heist so massive he'll live like a King.
Coburn does everything he can to make the first two thirds of the film mildly diverting (and helped along by composer Stu Phillips' sprightly, catchy earworm theme). But then it comes time for Eli's laboriously planned heist to unfold, a bank robbery adjacent to the L.A. airport during the arrival of the visiting Russian Premier.
And the movie drops dead.
Somebody should have told writer-director Bernard Girard that this elaborate heist isn't anywhere near as clever and suspenseful as he thought it was. On screen, it plays lifeless and dull. Even worse, it eats up almost a half hour of the film's running time and relegates Coborn to just another moving part in the machinery.....(other than trying out his Australian accent, which hasn't gotten any better since he used it in "The Great Escape".)
By the time the film rolled out its O Henry short story type of twist, we could barely rouse enough interest to chuckle mildly at it.
Coburn fans might want to check it out. And we'll add a few bonus points for the presence of Golden Globe's Promising Newcomer of 1966, the Swedish stunner and starlet du jour Camilla Sparv. Also, don't blink and you'll spot a future Mega Movie Star making his first film appearance in a 15 second bit part.
But overall, you could find far better timewasters than this one. 2 stars (**).
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